By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
CARDINIA Shire Council has backflipped on its decision to move the due date for upfront rates forward from February 2016 to September 2015, following extensive public backlash on the change.
In a letter to ratepayers dated Monday 25 August, the Cardinia Shire’s property and revenue manager Russell Hodges told residents that “council will still accept payment on or before 15 February 2016 (not September 2015 as stated in rates notice.)”
The letter was sent to property owners who last year paid in a lump sum.
A media release confirmed that the council had made the decision to reverse the change.
It read: “Mr Hodges said the date listed for the single payment option was incorrect and apologised for any inconvenience caused,” although no apology was mentioned in the letter, which was also provided to the Gazette.
The issue was brought to the attention of the Gazette by Cardinia resident Graham Clarke, who had been told by the council he could still pay upfront by 15 February next year, despite information provided to ratepayers and to the Gazette stating otherwise.
He said it was disappointing that the council had not been more forthcoming about changing their mind.
“There’s a total lack of accountability and transparency. Why should people have to go digging and digging to find an answer?”
Mr Clarke labelled the council’s decision to remove the pay upfront option after this year as “undemocratic.”
“The right to an option has been taken away from the people of Cardinia and that option should have remained. How can they tell us this is a good thing?” he said.
“Of course it will cause financial stress. The rates are far too high in this shire anyway.”
He added that he had received feedback from Cardinia Shire councillors, who agreed that the matter had been poorly handled.
“I’ve spoken to councillors about this issue and they’ve said to me that it was very badly dealt with in the first instance,” he said.
The council would not directly answer questions about when the decision was made or who it was made by.
As of Wednesday 26 August, the Cardinia Shire website read: “If you wish to pay your rates in full this needs to be made by the first instalment due date. As of 2015/16, the pay-in-full option by 15 February is no longer available.”
However, the letter informing residents that this was no longer the case was dated Monday 24 August.
The option to pay annual rates upfront will be removed after this year, sparking outrage among ratepayers.
Last week, Heritage Springs resident Lisa Rowe said the option to pay rates in-full alleviated the year-long burden.
“Throughout the year, a lot of other bills are coming in, it’s easy to lose track,” she said.
“The February due date gives people plenty of notice and a bit of time to save. It’s a huge expense.”
The letter sent to ratepayers this week cited improved cash flow as a reason for the change, among other advantages.
“The benefits of moving to the instalment-only option include increased capacity for the council to achieve local priorities as a result of a more even cash flow.”
